Our church has decided that on Sunday evenings we are going to try and do a potluck meal at least once a month to help offset the cost of going out to eat. We like to get together and fellowship after church at the local Cracker Barrel, but it can get expensive — especially for a family of 4. This past Sunday night we had one of those potluck meals, and we deemed it with an Italian theme. Now — I have to tell you how wonderful my hubby is, because while I was taking a much needed afternoon nap, he got online and found a great recipe on the Betty Crocker website. We, of course, changed it up a bit and made it our own, but it still ROCKED!
- 2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus ⅓ cup for sprinkling on them at the end)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 dashes of hot sauce
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup of ranch dressing
- ¼ cup milk
- 4 large plum (Roma) tomatoes, each cut into 8 slices
- 10 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled
- Thinly sliced green onions, if desired
- Heat oven to 425°F. Lightly spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
- In medium bowl, stir together Bisquick mix, cheese, sugar, Italian seasoning and hot sauce. Add ⅓ cup of the mayonnaise and the milk, stirring with fork until moistened. On lightly floured surface, knead dough 5 or 6 times. Pat or roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut with 1¾-inch round cutter; place rounds on cookie sheet.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly.
- Spread biscuits with ranch dressing; top each biscuit with tomato slice. Spread tomato slices with remaining parmesean cheese; sprinkle evenly with bacon and onions.
- Place back in the oven to melt cheese and heat tomatoes. Serve immediately or at room temperature.
These were the perfect little appetizer to take with us to an Italian themed feast. Thanks sweetie for finding the recipe and helping me knock these out that night! You’re the best 
What have you made recently?
I’m trying a new recipe this year for Thanksgiving. I love homemade cranberry sauce, but I recently saw Trisha Yearwood make Cranberry Relish and it looked SO good. I cannot wait to get it on my turkey.
Speaking of turkeys– I have not even went shopping yet. Can you say major procrastinator??
What is in Cranberry Relish you ask? It’s really easy –oranges, cranberries, sugar, and pecans. Super simple –delicious in flavor. I am in heaven! Trisha’s original recipe called for pecans, but mine is being made with almonds. It gives it a little different flavor!
- One 12-ounce package fresh cranberries
- 2 oranges, peeled
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup almonds, finely chopped
- Using a food processor, pulse the cranberries and oranges. Transfer the chopped fruit to a 1-quart bowl and add ½ cup of the sugar, stirring to mix. Add more sugar to taste, as the sweetness of the oranges will vary. Add the chopped almonds and serve.
If you want to try your hand at making homemade Cranberry sauce, be sure and check out my recipe for that. I’m also working on jellied homemade cranberry sauce, so we will see how that comes out as well.
What are your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes?
You may be wondering why you are seeing tons of appetizers this week on the blog. Well — I am updating our family recipe book and I want to make sure that all the items I have baked or cooked, gets shared with you. Today’s recipe is Brown Sugar Little Smokies. It is similar to the recipe I made a while back for BBQ Smokies, but just a tad different.
There is just something about brown sugar and bacon when you put those two together. They create this carmelized flavor that is just —YUM! I can’t even describe it .Do you like brown sugar and bacon?
Can you imagine it dribbled over ice cream? I might have to try that some day.
What about drizzled as a sauce over chicken that has been grilled to perfection?
Oooh– mixed with butter and put on a steak or a baked sweet potato.
I must stop. I am making myself hungry!
Anyway, this recipe is one that I cart to most outing events like football parties, winter get togethers, etc.
- 1 package of Little Smokies
- 1 pound of bacon
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the bacon into thirds and wrap each third around a Little Smokie.
- Place seam side down on a baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Bake for 20-25 or until bacon is crisp and sugar has caramelized.
I am a lover of avocados! I used to hate them, but somewhere along the lines I grew to love their taste and texture in my food. I recently discovered baked avocado fries and all I can to you is that they are SO scrumptious!
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1¼ cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
- 2 firm-ripe medium avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced into ½-in. wedges
- Grated parmesan for serving
- Preheat the oven to 450.
- Coat all the avocado slices in the flour, then egg, then panko. Spread on a cooling rack that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, then place on a cookie sheet. Spray the top of the wedges with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then bake for about 20 minutes at 450, or until they are golden brown. You may need to flip them during the cooking time.
Serving avocados is a great way to get your daily intake of fats in. I eat them now on just about anything — sandwiches, as a dip, as a spread, in a salad — you name it and I am eating it.
Do you eat avocados? What is your favorite recipe?
My garden is over run with kale so I decided to put it to good use and make some kale chips.
The verdict?
I thought it was just okay.
Hubby did not like it.
Robert wouldn’t even try it because it was green.
But Kayla? She loved it! Said it was the best healthiest snack she has had in a long time.
So here is the VERY simple and easy way to make kale chips.
- A big bunch of kale torn into pieces, stems removed
- 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
- sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Massage the oil into the leaves of the kale. Season them with sea salt and place on a baking sheet. Don’t let the leaves touch each other (place in a single layer).
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until desired crispness is achieved.
Getting our kids to eat healthier snacks is a hard job, especially today when so many bad choices are out there for them. However, if we put things before them that look appealing, then they possibly would make better choices when it comes to their snacking options.
Have you ever tried kale chips before? What was your thought about them?
I love Lil’ Smokies! There are so many different ways you can fix these. I have wrapped them in crescent rolls. I have wrapped them in bacon. And one of my all time favorite ways to fix them is with grape jelly! It makes them have this delicious bbq taste–none like you have ever had before!
Here is the recipe! Hope you enjoy.
- 1 (8-ounce jar) grape jelly
- 1 (16-ounce) bottle of bbq sauce
- 1 package of Lil’ Smokie weiners
- Put all items in a crock pot and heat on low until done, about an hour.
These are great to fix during parties and get togethers because they travel well. I make them anytime I am going to a potluck or a party where there will be games and food
You can also vary these up because there are tons of recipes on the internet to use the Litl Smokie weiners.
What is your favorite way to make these?
Okay, I have to tell you about this new salsa that I discovered! It is AH-MAZ-ING!
But first–an update on KY Girl Cooks. I have decided to put that website on hold for just a little while. The reason for that is because I really want to get it designed professionally and everything and I don’t have the funds to do that just yet. So I am going to park it and once I get it all designed like I want–THEN I will do a serious launch on there and everything! So for now, recipes will be shared here amongst all the other hoopla that I write about here
Now onto my newest creation–Kiwi Salsa!
I had some kiwi that needed to be used up, so we did a search for a recipe and this one came up. Now if you are like me and love salsa, then you will love this one as well! I think next time I make it though, I will puree a little bit of it and see how a smoother kiwi salsa tastes (my hubby’s idea).
Here is what you will need to make this recipe:
- 6 kiwis, peeled and diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Chop up your kiwi and place in a bowl.
Also chop up your onion and jalapeno and then throw them in the bowl also.
Lastly, add all your spices to the bowl and then mix to combine.
Cover and set it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and let the flavors marry together! It will be DEELISH!
Grab a few tortilla chips, sample, and ENJOY!
Here’s the printable. Hope you enjoy this delicious recipe!
Kiwi Salsa
Ingredients
6 kiwis, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Directions
Mix kiwi, onion, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, olive oil, honey, cumin, and curry powder together in bowl. Cover and allow to rest for 1 hour at room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Hey guys!
I hope you all had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend. While we did not get to go anywhere this year, I was able to make a couple of new recipes! If you follow my page on Facebook, then you know about my test kitchen recipe for sweet and spicy mixed nuts.
I can tell you that these mixed nuts are deeeelish!
I wasn’t for sure how the flavors would blend together, but oh em gee….they are fabulous!
The inspiration for making these came from Food Network (of course, right?)! Vice President Biden made these with Sunny Anderson for their Memorial Day cookout. I knew after reading the recipe, I was going to seriously have to give them a try.
In his recipe, he used just pecans, but honestly. . .pecans are expensive! So I tried to find a way to make them and it be less expensive. That is why I used mixed nuts. Plus, I liked the variety of different flavors of nuts. My faves were the almonds and cashews!
Mixed Nuts= $2.50
Pecans =$6.99
Which would you have chosen?
Here is the recipe. If you decide to try it let me know!
Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts
Ingredients
- 1 large egg white
- 4 cups mixed nuts
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon water in a large bowl until foamy. Add the nuts, sugar, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix well. Spread the mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are mostly dry but still slightly sticky, about 40 minutes.
Remove the nuts from the oven and stir. Reduce the temperature to 200 degrees F. Return the nuts to the oven and bake until crisp, about 30 more minutes. Stir to loosen the nuts from the baking sheet; cool completely on the sheet.
Now for my good news!
I start my job tomorrow! I am really starting to get excited about going back to work. Don’t get me wrong. I love my family more than anything, but the extrovert in me has missed the adult conversation. I have three days of training and then I will be on my own! YIKES!
I know that I can handle it just fine Just hoping I don’t spend all my paycheck each week when I get it! Gotta be a good girl, right?
Oh–and be sure and hop on over to the blog and check out the summer feel I have going on. Been trying to spruce things up around here. I am kind of in an organizing mood.
What about you? What do you have going on right now?
One of my favorite things to eat at our local Chinese restaurant is the sugared biscuits that they have.
After studying them for a few visits, I figured out that they are nothing more than biscuit dough that has been rolled up and fried and then rolled in sugar. SUPER easy and will be a wonderful compliment to any Chinese meal!
- 1 can of biscuits
- oil for frying
- sugar for rolling.
- Unroll the package of bicuits and cut each in half. Roll each half into a ball.
- Heat your oil to medium high.
- Place five biscuits in the oil at a time and let them brown on all side. Once they have browned, Pull them out and place them on a paper towel for a second or two and then roll them in the sugar.
Here is how to make a complete Chinese meal!
I have shared all my Chinese recipes with you so far. If you put them all together, you will have a wonderful Chinese take out meal without the high end take out price!
Appetizers:
This sweet biscuit recipe
Main Course:
Sides:
What about you? Do you have any authentic Chinese recipes? I would LOVE to try them!
This post is linked to: Sunday Scoop, Saturday Nite Spotlight, Shindig Saturday, Show and Tell Saturday, Saturday Swap, Summer Lovin Saturdays, Sweets for Saturday, Recipes to Run On
This weekend, I was watching Food Network (when am I not watching Food Network–right?) Big Daddy’s house was on (one of my favorite shows EVER)–He was always my fave Next Food Network Star before he had his own show. I said he was gonna make it big! Anyway, after watching his show this weekend and seeing Kelsey (his guest host) make her popcorn brittle made ME want to make a batch–so I did and check it out!
I did do mine a bit different than Kelsey. I drizzled the white chocolate but left the regular chocolate whole. This stuff will make you fall in love all over again with food. Seriously.
I never knew how easy it was to make your own Crunch n Munch (which is what this favors). Everyone here gave it a “thumbs up”
Here is the recipe! Hope you enjoy
Popcorn Brittle
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 10 cups popped popcorn
- Salt, optional
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
- 6 ounces white chocolate, melted
- 1 cup salted pretzels, crushed
Directions
Mix the sugar and honey in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in the crunchy peanut butter. Continue to stir until the peanut butter is smooth, and then add the vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, add the popped popcorn. If desired, lightly salt the popcorn. Pour the warm peanut butter mixture over the popcorn and stir with a long-handled wooden spoon until completely coated.
On a baking sheet lined with wax paper, pour the coated popcorn and distribute evenly. Drizzle with the melted semisweet chocolate, and then drizzle with the white chocolate. Sprinkle the crushed pretzels over the warm popcorn. Allow the chocolate to set about 20 minutes (or speed up the process by placing the baking sheet in the refrigerator). Once the popcorn is set, serve in a large serving bowl. Store tightly covered.
This post is linked to Meatless Mondays, Culinary Evolution, My Meatless Mondays, I Heart Cooking Clubs, Cook the Books, This Week’s Cravings, Motivate Me Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday. Mangia Mondays, Make a Food “e” Friend, Your Recipe, My Kitchen, Recipe Swap, Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays, Hunk of Meat Monday,
These stuffed jalapenos have become one of my absolute favorite finger foods in. the. world. They are so easy to make and they just keep getting better and better the longer they sit!
I did change the original recipe up some. The base I used for this is the Pioneer Woman’s version. But I added an extra punch of flavor to mine by brushing them with bbq sauce before cooking them.
- 10 whole Jalapenos
- 1 block of Cream Cheese, softened
- ½ pound Bacon, Sliced Into Thirds
- Put on a pair of disposable gloves.
- Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane
- Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half. Wrap jalapeno with bacon pieces (1/3 slice). Secure by sticking toothpick through the middle.
- Brush with your favorite bbq sauce.
- Bake on a pan with a rack in a 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
- Serve immediately, or they’re also great at room temperature.
Photo courtesy of Pillsbury
If you are looking for a very easy and affordable appetizer, this is it! With only three ingredients and a very small cook time, you can have this ready in no time flat!
This appetizer came about when I wanted to bake some brie, but honestly could not afford the price of the cheese. I had heard somewhere that you could switch out the cream cheese for brie and it worked the same way but with a different flavor. This one was a definite keeper!
You can also add a little sweet flavor to it as well by placing your favorite jam or jelly on top of the cheese before wrapping it up in the cresent roll.
Hope you enjoy this recipe!
- 1 block of cream cheese
- 1 roll of cresent roll dough
- Your favorite dipping crackers
- Roll out the crescent dough to make a rectangle. Be sure and seam everything together.
- Place your cream cheese block inside of the rectangle and begin pulling all the sides up to come together in the middle of the cheese (kind of like my photo). Twirl together at the top.
- Bake in the oven according to crescent roll package. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.
I love mozzarella sticks, but I am finding that the ones they sell at the store kind of taste like cardboard–ewww!
Anyway, Stephen wanted mozzarella sticks for our New Year’s Eve dinner, so I decided to try making them homemade. I was quite proud of my culinary capabilities when making them.
Here is the recipe. Enjoy!
- Flour for dusting
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of Panko Bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
- salt
- 1 (8 ounce) block of mozzarella cheese
- Cut your mozzarella block into 1 or 2 inch cubes. Dust each cube with flour.
- Pour Panko bread crumbs into a dish and add a teaspoon of salt and the Italian seasoning. Set aside.
- Crack an egg in a small dish and beat well.
- Dip each mozzi bite into the egg and then roll in panko bread crumbs. Place on a cookie sheet.
- Continue until all bites have been coated and placed on the cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in the freezer for about three hours so that the bites freeze well. (This step is important so that your cheese does not fall apart during the frying process).
- After freezing, heat oil in a deep pan (about 3 inches thick). Once oil is at the right temperature, place three or four bites in at a time, allow them to fry for about 2-3 minutes (watch them very carefully) and then remove them to a paper towel to drain. Continue in this fashion until all the bites have been fried.
To make the marinara sauce pictured above, just visit this link where I shared my pizza recipe–homemade sauce!
These taste so much better than store bought and I am sure these will be a staple in our household for years to come!
This post is linked to Cookbook Sundays, One Food Club,
My all time favorite Christmas present every year is sausage balls ( you can be my best friend too! Just make me some and send them to me–ha ha).
It has taken me FOREVER to figure out how to get them to the perfect consistency and I have finally done it! YAY!
Here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy
- 1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage, uncooked
- 2 cups of Bisquick baking mix
- 3 cups sharp chedder cheese shredded
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix all three of the above together and then roll into 1 inch balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
- Remove and enjoy!
This is always been my favorite appetizer anywhere we go. If they are serving Sausage balls, I am going to be right there digging in!!
So what is your favorite appetizer?
The other day when I was snooping around the Tasty Kitchen website, I ran across this recipe. It is SUPER easy to make! The actual recipe link is HERE.
Ingredients
1 pound of bacon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 can of chunk pineapple
Directions
Open the can of pineapple. Drain all the liquid off. Take the pound of bacon and cut each piece up into thirds. Rub brown sugar on the piece of pineapple and then wrap with a piece of bacon.
Bake in the oven on 375 degrees for about 25 or 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve. Can be served either warm or cold.
This post is linked to: Tuesday Tastes, Tuesdays at the Table, Teatime Tuesdays, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays
My husband and I will be attending a banquet on Friday evening. My friend Rachel made these delicious looking rolls for a homeschool meeting once and I was instantly hooked! Anytime you mix bread, cheese, and sausage together I am in heaven!
Here is the recipe:
- 1 pound fresh, ground spicy pork sausage
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
- 2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a medium skillet, lightly brown sausage and drain. While sausage is still hot, add cream cheese and stir until cheese is melted and mixture is creamy. Cool completely.
- Unfold the cresent rolls and place a spoonful of mixture on each cresent and roll up. Place on baking sheet and bake according to package directions.
- Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Slice in half and serve.
Hi! I am Jen--a wife to the most amazing man ever and a homeschool mom to one teenager. I just graduated my oldest.
I have been blogging since 2007. I love to watch movies, spend time in the kitchen, crochet, dance, drink coffee, and lay on the beach. Between recipes, reviews, and hilarious life story moments you'll find many helpful posts on this blog. Welcome, pull up a chair and stay for a while!
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